Third eyelid showing

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Foofy

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Can anyone give me more info on bunnies 3rdeyelids showing? As explained in my previous post my bunnyCrunchie has just had a mammary tumour removed just over a weekago. Since then at various times her 3rd eyelid has beenshowing, sometimes more than others and sometimes not at all.

Have spoken to the vet and he says this is a sign of stress due to thefact she has just had a majoroperation and it may last forabout 5 to 6 weeks. Has anyone had similar problems in theirbunnies? Does anyone know if it will really last this long?

Sue, Crunchie & Benjy

PS I will try and put in a picture of Benjy soon, now I have managed apicture of Crunchie on my other post. Still not that good at thiscomputer lark! :)
 


Hi Foofy,

The third-eyelid has so many different layers as to why it happens thatit's really hard to say what's going on without seeing her.

There are different stages for it, there are different reasons as towhy it shows up, the rabbit's history, etc. It sounds like you have avery caring and knowledgeable veterinarian. I'd trust what he's saying.It sounds like solid advice to me.

I've known people who's rabbits have had the third-eyelid and it's corrected itself. It is upsetting to see.

* * * * * * * *

Pamnock?

Is there a medical term for the third eyelid? I've yet to find it.

Thanks.

-Carolyn
 
Could someone please explain what it means to havea 3rd eyelid...in layman's terms? Is this similar to theprotective eyelid found in alligators and crocodiles? Dorabbits have these, I have not read about these in any of my rabbitbooks.

Wabbitwuv
 
Thanks for everyones replies, and thanks Pam for giving me the technical term! Even my vet didn't tell me that! :)

Crunchie's showing of the 3rd eyelids in both eyes does seem to begetting a little bit better i.e. they are not showing so much.Hopefully this is a good sign that she is on the road to recovery afterher operation.


Here they both are, I am starting to get the hang of uploading thesepictures now! Crunchie is the light coloured one giving Benjy a bigkiss a few months ago! Any ideas as to what breed Crunchie is? I knowBenjy is a silver fox but don't know about her.





 
What is the third eyelid? Is it that translucent covering that pulls over their eyes at times?
 
I believe that Crunchie and Benjy are both mixedbreeds. The UK breeds are rather similar to ours, but theyaccept more color varieties in the breeds than we do.

Crunchie's color is fawn and Benjy's color is a beautiful black otter,which is very different from the color of the silver foxbreed. I believe you may have been thinking of the silvermarten which has a similar color.



Pam
 
Is it bad if it's showing in the corner of theireyes? I never knew it was but you can see it in both of Spice's eyesall the time. :?I figured that was normal.
 
The membrane may be visible for any number ofreasons. We have a holland who's "third eyelid" shows all thetime. It can be due to a genetic weakness in the muscles thatcontract the membrane.

Pam
 
Foofy wrote:
Here they both are, I am starting to get the hang of uploading thesepictures now! Crunchie is the light coloured one giving Benjy a bigkiss a few months ago! Any ideas as to what breed Crunchie is? I knowBenjy is a silver fox but don't know about her.


I found more info on the UK Silver Fox, which is different from our USSilver Fox. The UK Silver Fox is very similar to the USSilver Marten. By UK Standards, Benjy doesn't fit the colordescription for Silver Fox due to the Tan triangle behind her ears.(It's supposed to be Silver).

http://www.geocities.com/ifoxclub/main.htm



Pam
 
Pam

Thanks ever so much for looking this up for me. I did knowthat our UK Silver Fox is called a Marten in the USA, strange eh! Havelooked at the link. Benjy has a large patch of fawn colour behind hisears not a small white patch as they are supposed to! He is also whiteall under his stomach. He is obviously not a real silver fox!But I think he is pretty!

The woman at the rescue centre where I got him from told me he was anotter fox colour. Have you heard of this? Maybe that is whenthey have brown behind the ears instead of white. He also has bits ofbrowny colour mixed in with the white and black on his front paws.

I did not know either that Crunchie's colour was fawn.Should have known that shouldn't I seeing as I have kept bunnies foryears! I did think she was a mixture of breeds though.

Sue, Crunchie & Benjy
 
Foofy wrote:
The woman at the rescue centre where I got him from told me he was an otter fox colour.
In the US, Benjy's color would be called "black otter". Whatwe call an otter fox is probably different from your otterfox.In the US,it is the geneticequivalent to a "tort otter" and is not showable in anybreed(it's a color very similar to fawn, but with tortshading).

In the UK, "Otter Fox" may indeed be what they call Benjy's color.



Pam
 
Pam

Thanks again for the info.Have had a quick look at theBritish Rabbit Council link. Looks interesting will have another looklater. How come you are so knowledgeable about bunnies? Howmany do you have?

Sue
 
Hi Sue,

I'm always amazed at what I "don't" know LOL

I've had rabbits throughout my life, with our current stint being overthe last 14 years primarily with smaller breeds (although I've owned asampling of many different breeds). We currently are down toabout 150 rabbits, primarily Holland Lops and Dwarf Hotots.We also have Tans, Netherlands, English Spots, English Angoras,Himalayans, a Silver Fox, Satin, Checkered Giant and a Silver.

I'm an ARBA Judge and am proud to say that my daughter, Stephanie (atop Dwarf Hototbreeder)recently passed the ARBARegistrar's test and is currently working on completing the requirmentsfor a registrar's license.

I've been a 4-H advisor and give many presentations on every aspect ofrabbits with diseases being my primary interest. (Recentlyspoke for 2 hours on diseases!) Once I start, you just can'tshut me up LOL

My oldest son, Billy has exhibited Hollands for many years and at onetime was #1 open in Ohio and #18 in the nation (not bad for limitedshowing). My 5 year old son Matthew alsoenjoys showing and would like to be a judge some day.

Although my 14 year old son (Ryan) does not show, he is an expert at shearing Angoras and handling rabbits.

My husband has previously raised Checkered Giants & NewZealands and hopes to get back into a larger breed at some point.

Pam


My website: http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/
 

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